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Thompson-Voight Dragster
The Thompson-Voight dragster is a twin-engined streamliner dragster.Taylor, Thom. "Mickey Thompson, Fritz Voight dragster", in "Beauty Beyond the Twilight Zone", p. 31. Mickey Thompson collaborated with Fritz Voight in building the dragster, which had a fully enclosed body (except the steel front wheels), including a closed canopy. It was powered by a pair of Chrysler hemis, one facing forward to drive the rear wheels, the other facing backward to drive the front ones. Wearing number 555, the car debuted in 1958 at Bonneville, after "an impromptu stop", where it achieved on its very first run. The next week, the car turned in a best speed of , but broke a connecting rod, leaving Thompson unable to back up his speed to make it official. While a reasonable success in land speed racing, the car proved too slow for drag racing, never able to top high-9 second passes or (even with its body removed), when contemporary slingshot A slingshot is a small hand-powered project ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Top Fuel
Top Fuel is a type of drag racing whose dragsters are the quickest accelerating racing cars in the world and the fastest sanctioned category of drag racing, with the fastest competitors reaching speeds of and finishing the runs in 3.62 seconds. A top fuel dragster accelerates from a standstill to in as little as 0.8 seconds (less than one third the time required by a production Porsche 911 Turbo to reach ) and can exceed in just . This subjects the driver to an average acceleration of about over the duration of the race and with a peak of over . Because of the speeds, this class exclusively races to only a distance, and not the traditional one-fourth of a statute mile, or . The rule was changed in 2008 by the National Hot Rod Association following the fatal crash of Funny Car driver Scott Kalitta during a qualifying session at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey. The shortening of the distance was used by the FIA at some tracks, and as of 2012 is n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Streamliner
A streamliner is a vehicle incorporating wikt:streamline, streamlining in a shape providing reduced air resistance. The term is applied to high-speed railway trainsets of the 1930s to 1950s, and to their successor "High-speed rail, bullet trains". Less commonly, the term is applied to fully Bicycle fairing, faired upright and recumbent bicycles. As part of the Streamline Moderne trend, the term was applied to passenger cars, trucks, and other types of light-, medium-, or heavy-duty vehicles, but now vehicle streamlining is so prevalent that it is not an outstanding characteristic. In Land speed record, land speed racing, it is a term applied to the long, slender, custom built, high-speed vehicles with enclosed wheels. Trains Before World War II Europe The first high-speed streamliner in Germany was the "Schienenzeppelin", an experimental propeller driven single car, built in 1930. On 21 June 1931, the car set a speed record of on a run between Berlin and Hamburg. In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dragster (car)
A dragster is a specialized competition automobile used in drag racing. Dragsters, also commonly called "diggers", can be broadly placed in three categories, based on the fuel they use: gasoline, methanol, and nitromethane. They are most commonly single-engined, though twin-engined and quad-engined designs did race in the 1950s and 1960s. The design of dragsters evolved from the front-engined rail (named for the exposed frame rails) of the earliest days of drag racing, into the "slingshot" (with the driver between or behind the rear tires, or "slicks") of the early to middle 1960s, to the "modern" type common in the 1970s. Depending on the class they run in, dragsters can be injected or supercharged (or turbocharged), with a variety of possible engines. The engines are most often derived from automobiles'; some early examples used surplus aircraft engines. Today, they may also be electric. Dragsters are distinct from "bodied" cars such as funny cars and gassers, as well as fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chrysler Hemi Engine
The Chrysler Hemi engines, known by the trademark Hemi, are a series of American V8 engine, V8 gasoline engines built by Chrysler with overhead valve hemispherical combustion chambers. Three different types of Hemi engines have been built by Chrysler for automobiles: the first (known as the Chrysler FirePower engine) from 1951 to 1958, the second from 1964 to 1971, and the third beginning in 2003. Although Chrysler is most identified with the use of "Hemi" as a marketing term, many other auto manufacturers have incorporated similar designs. The engine block and cylinder heads were cast and manufactured at Indianapolis Foundry. During the 1970s and 1980s, Chrysler also used the ''Hemi'' name for their Australian-made Chrysler Hemi-6 Engine, Hemi-6 Engine and applied it to the 4-cylinder Astron 2.6, Mitsubishi 2.6 L engine installed in various North American market vehicles. Concept A hemispherical cylinder head ("hemi-head") gives an efficient combustion chamber with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mickey Thompson
Michael Lee "Mickey" Thompson (December 7, 1928March 16, 1988) was an American auto racing builder and promoter. A hot rodder since his youth, Thompson increasingly pursued land speed records in his late 20s and early 30s."The Hottest Hot Rodder in the World." ''Popular Science'', December 1959, pp. 95-98/218. He achieved international fame in 1960, when he became the first American to break the 400-mph barrier, driving his ''Challenger 1'' to a one-way top speed of 406.60 mph at the and surpassing [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fritz Voight
Fritz originated as a German nickname for Friedrich, or Frederick (''Der Alte Fritz'', and ''Stary Fryc'' were common nicknames for King Frederick II of Prussia and Frederick III, German Emperor) as well as for similar names including Fridolin and, less commonly, Francis. Fritz (Fryc) was also a name given to German troops by the Entente powers equivalent to the derogative Tommy. Other common bases for which the name Fritz was used include the surnames Fritsche, Fritzsche, Fritsch, Frisch(e) and Frycz. Below is a list of notable people with the name "Fritz." Surname *Amanda Fritz (born 1958), retired registered psychiatric nurse and politician from Oregon *Al Fritz (1924–2013), American businessman *Ben Fritz (born 1981), American baseball coach *Betty Jane Fritz (1924–1994), one of the original players in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League *Clemens Fritz (born 1980), German footballer *Edmund Fritz (before 1918–after 1932), Austrian actor, film director, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bonneville Salt Flats
The Bonneville Salt Flats are a densely packed salt pan in Tooele County in northwestern Utah. A remnant of the Pleistocene Lake Bonneville, it is the largest of many salt flats west of the Great Salt Lake. It is public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management and is known for land speed records at the Bonneville Speedway. Access to the Flats is open to the public. The Flats are about 12 miles (19 km) long and 5 miles (8 km) wide, with a crust almost 5 ft (1.5m) thick at the center and less than one inch (2.5 cm) towards the edges. It is estimated to hold 147 million tons of salt, approximately 90% of which is common table salt. History Geologist Grove Karl Gilbert named the area after Benjamin Bonneville, a U.S. Army officer who explored the Intermountain West in the 1830s. In 1907, Bill Rishel and two local businessmen tested the suitability of the salt for driving by taking a Pierce-Arrow onto its surface. A railway line across the Flats was completed in 1910, ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Connecting Rod
A connecting rod, also called a 'con rod', is the part of a piston engine which connects the piston to the crankshaft. Together with the crank, the connecting rod converts the reciprocating motion of the piston into the rotation of the crankshaft. The connecting rod is required to transmit the compressive and tensile forces from the piston. In its most common form, in an internal combustion engine, it allows pivoting on the piston end and rotation on the shaft end. The predecessor to the connecting rod is a mechanic linkage used by water mills to convert rotating motion of the water wheel into reciprocating motion. The most common usage of connecting rods is in internal combustion engines or on steam engines. __TOC__ Origins The predecessor to the connecting length is the mechanical linkage used by Roman-era watermills. The earliest known example of this linkage has been found at the late 3rd century Hierapolis sawmill in Roman Asia (modern Turkey) and the 6th century ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Land Speed Racing
Land speed racing is a form of motorsport. Land speed racing is best known for the efforts to break the absolute land speed record, but it is not limited to specialist vehicles. A record is defined as the speed over a course of fixed length, averaged over two runs (commonly called "passes"). Under current FIA rules, two runs are required in opposite directions within one hour, over a timed mile and a new record mark must exceed the previous one by at least one percent to be validated. Records are set in either the flying kilometre or flying mile. Motorcycle land speed racing requires 2 passes the same calendar day in opposite directions over a timed mile/kilo foAMA National Land Speed RecordswhilFIM Land Speed World Recordsrequire two passes in opposite directions to be over a timed mile/kilo completed within 2 hours. History The sport's origins date to the 1930s with the Mormon Meteor at Bonneville Speedway in Utah and in California, when the Southern California Timing Associat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drag Racing
Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, most commonly , with a shorter, distance becoming increasingly popular, as it has become the standard for Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars, where some major bracket races and other sanctioning bodies have adopted it as the standard. The is also popular in some circles. Electronic timing and speed sensing systems have been used to record race results since the 1960s. The history of automobiles and motorcycles being used for drag racing is nearly as long as the history of motorized vehicles themselves, and has taken the form of both illegal street racing and as a regulated motorsport. History Drag racing started in the 1940s. World War II veterans were prominently involved, and some early drag races were done at decommissioned aircraft b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Front Engine Dragster
The front-engine dragster is a type of racing car purposely built for drag racing. Commonly known as a "rail", "digger", or "slingshot", it is now considered obsolete, and is used only in nostalgia drag racing. Wheelbases ranged from . History Dragsters were first built with their engines in front simply because their builders followed the front-engine standard of production cars. However, they did not use (and current dragsters still do not use) any form of suspension. Because of this, these types of vehicles were prone to becoming unstable at speed. This is due to their making , plus having poor tire technology, short wheelbases, and very light weight. (This was demonstrated to extremes in Fuel Altereds.) The driver sits angled backward, over the top of the differential in a cockpit situated between the two rear tires, a design originating with Mickey Thompson in 1954, as a way of improving traction. This position led to many drivers being maimed when catastrophic clutch fa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1950s Cars
1950s American automobile culture has had an enduring influence on the culture of the United States, as reflected in popular music, major trends from the 1950s and mainstream acceptance of the " hot rod" culture. The American manufacturing economy switched from producing war-related items to consumer goods at the end of World War II, and by the end of the 1950s, one in six working Americans were employed either directly or indirectly in the automotive industry. The United States became the world's largest manufacturer of automobiles, and Henry Ford's goal of 30 years earlier—that any man with a good job should be able to afford an automobile—was achieved. A new generation of service businesses focusing on customers with their automobiles came into being during the decade, including drive-through or drive-in restaurants and greatly increasing numbers of drive-in theaters (cinemas). The decade began with 25 million registered automobiles on the road, most of which predated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
